Multi-gene Test Predicts Early Heart Disease Risk

A risk score based on multiple genetic differences, or polygenic risk score, predicted significantly more cases of early-onset heart disease than standard tests for single genetic defects, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.

“Our results provide convincing evidence that the polygenic risk score could be added to the genetic investigation of patients with very early coronary artery disease.”

Heart disease is the leading cause of death, both in the United States and worldwide. The most common form is coronary artery disease, which occurs when the blood vessels to the heart narrow or harden. Most people can decrease their risk by not smoking, being physically active, maintaining a healthy diet and body weight, and controlling cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.

In rare instances, however, high blood levels of the so-called bad cholesterol, LDL, result from a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Patients with this genetic defect are at increased risk for early-onset heart disease, defined in the study as before age 40 in men and age 45 in women, so early diagnosis and treatment are critical. The problem is that many patients with early-onset heart disease do not have this single genetic defect which can be measured by current tests.

Accordingly, this study looked at the relationship between a risk score based on multiple genetic differences and early-onset heart disease. Results showed that the polygenic risk score predicted a high risk for early-onset heart disease in 1 out of 53 individuals at the same level as FH does. The prevalence of FH is 1 in 256 individuals for the single genetic test for FH.

“The increase in genetic risk was independent of other known risk factors, suggesting that testing for multiple genetic differences is clinically useful to evaluate risk and guide management,” said senior author Guillaume Paré, M.D. M.Sc. FRCPc, associate professor of medicine at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and director of the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory. “Combining polygenic screening with current testing for familial hypercholesterolemia could potentially increase five-fold the number of cases for which a genetic explanation can be found.”

The investigators developed the polygenic risk score based on 182 genetic differences related to coronary artery disease. They then compared polygenic risk scores between study participants with and without early-onset heart disease.

This article has been republished from materials provided by American Heart Association. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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